


maybe we should love for the fun of it

by ladyofdecember



Category: 3rd Rock from the Sun
Genre: Crushes, Declarations Of Love, Dreams and Nightmares, Dreams vs. Reality, Emotionally Repressed, High School, M/M, Mentions of Alissa, Mentions of August, Mentions of Don - Freeform, Mentions of Mary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2020-12-12 05:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20993609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofdecember/pseuds/ladyofdecember
Summary: Tommy and Harry have a moment together that passes but sticks with Tommy long after.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited about 3rd Rock from the Sun you guys. I just started watching it again. I haven't seen it since I was a kid so I've forgotten most of it and it's all brand new to me now. I was struck by this idea and had to write it down. Hopefully it's not too OOC or out there. I mean they are aliens so anything goes I guess.
> 
> I did a lot of research with dream symbols for this. My favorite thing to do after waking up from a nightmare or just a dream is look up what the meaning is. It may be silly but sometimes it does make sense so these are actual dream symbols you can research and look up to try to figure out the meanings. I use Dreammoods.com to decode the dream meanings in case anyone is interested.
> 
> If you haven't seen 3rd Rock, I'd suggest watching it first or you may be very confused about most of this. If you're not going to, I'll just let you know some spoilers. The show is made up of an army unit of four members. They are sent to Earth to pose as humans to do research on them and report back to their planet eventually. Tommy is posing as a teenage boy while being the actual age of about 68 Earth years and an unknown number alien years. Harry's age is unknown but I'd assume he's somewhere between Dick and Sally's age in unknown alien years. In Earth years he's probably close to Sally's age and definitely younger than Dick's. Tommy is the oldest of the four in the unit if we're talking their true ages.
> 
> ...
> 
> "Love is a kiss  
Love is a risk  
Love might be our redemption  
Love is on time  
Love is not blind  
Love might be our addiction"  
-Wild Love by Elle King

It was 11pm on a Tuesday and the "family" had just climbed back in the house from sitting out on the roof for the nightly meeting. Sally was busying herself with organizing her closet downstairs while Dick had wandered off to his bedroom for the night.

Harry paused as he stood in the living room wondering if he should turn on the TV or just head to bed. They'd all been experimenting with the human concept of "sleeping" and he for one was starting to really enjoy it.

Tommy moved past him to plop down into one of the armchairs and stare expectantly up at him. "You wanna see if that 'who's the father' show is on?"

Shrugging, Harry sat down as well to join the older man as he stood up and leaned over to turn the TV on.

The two sat in silence for a bit, just watching the host talk pointedly with the man and woman onstage about their child together.

"Hey, what do you think they get for being on here?" Tommy asked, glancing to his right at the man.

"Well, I don't rightly know there, Tommy. Perhaps they get the simple justification that their life decisions were the right ones. Maybe they get the thrill of being in front of all those cameras and the fifteen minutes of fame that they so desperately cling to?"

Tommy stared at the coherent answer in shock.

Harry smirked at him. "Then again, they prolly just get hotel and airfare!"

The two nodded and chuckled at the sad people on the TV.

The host of the show announced there was another man there who claimed to be the real father of the couple's only son and the two cheered as he came out on the stage.

"Ooh! Ooh! This is where they throw a chair!" Harry yelled excitedly.

"I know! Shut up!"

On stage, the two men began to fight with one another and scuffle as the host got out of the way quickly. The woman ran off crying before quickly returning with a metal chair and hitting the two repeatedly with it.

"Oh my god! She has the chair!!" Tommy yelled as the two nearly doubled over almost falling off the arm chairs.

They laughed at the ridiculous scene before them, Tommy pausing to gently wipe at the tears forming in his eyes. Another man suddenly barreled through the air colliding into the two causing the two to fall into uproarious laughter once more. It was this second time however that Harry's hand came down to rest upon the older man's knee.

Tommy sat up a little straighter in his seat, amusement now draining from his face, he stared incredulously down at the precariously placed hand upon his knee. It was... grasping and not moving from it's placement. 

As Harry laughed harder at the man tripping and now falling over one of the numerous chairs onstage, he slapped the top of Tommy's jean clad thigh now, resting his hand higher than before until the "teen" smacked it away quickly.

"What are you doing?!" He shrieked, feeling a little weirded out and more than a little concerned that he was only "a little" weirded out.

"Laughing?" Harry gestured at the TV. "The bald man fell down!"

"No, I mean, your hand!?!" He gestured wildly at the space between them which was sparse. His breathing had began to increase rapidly and he was more than familiar with the feelings coming over him by now. They were normal, human feelings and emotions, a normal response if the instigator wasn't Harry!

"My hand?" The man parroted now looking down at his two palms in wonderment.

Tommy stood up from the chair looking very nervous and restless. "Nevermind! Just don't... don't do that!"

Harry shrugged, not really sure what they were talking about and turned back to the TV. "Sorry!"

Tommy stood there for a moment more just watching the TV or trying to as his eyes kept straying back to Harry. His heart pounded in his chest and he suddenly realized he had a bad, bad case of dry mouth. Shaking his head of the millions of thoughts racing through it, he scoffed and headed towards his room. "I'm going to bed." He couldn't deal with this right now.

And with that he was gone.

Harry peered curiously over at the now empty hallway that led towards Tommy's "room". Not really comprehending what had happened, he shook it off and turned back to the show, excited to find out who really was the father. After all, he never really understood what went on around him. And that was fine by him.

...

It was dark and he was alone. At least, that's what he thought until he turned around from where he sat at the bar. Across the room was Harry, staring at him from where he leaned against the wall. The bar was dark and quiet and they seemed to be the only two there. 

Harry wasn't moving and was just standing there and staring with a confident look upon his face. It made him vaguely uncomfortable and he couldn't really pinpoint as to why. Maybe just seeing the usually self-conscious individual looking so self assured was what was jarring?

Tommy stood up, obviously confused by where they were and what they were doing there. He began to approach Harry to ask what was going on when suddenly music began to play from somewhere above. The darkened bar was illuminated with bright strobe lights and a disco ball coming down from the ceiling.

Harry pushed off the wall and met him in the center of the room wherein Tommy pulled him closer and they began to dance. Shuffling him this way and that, Tommy began to smile as he led Harry across the dance floor to and fro.

It wasn't long before the music stopped and the lighting changed once more. Harry seemed to fade away into the background as balls were suddenly tossed to Tommy from the darkness. He began to juggle them one after the other until he was juggling six balls in the air.

He tried looking for Harry but it seemed he was now alone. The balls seeming to disappear from his grasp, Tommy just stared at the darkness now in confusion.

He turned around and there on the table nearby sat a vase of damask roses. Inexplicably, he recognized that they were in fact damask roses simply by their strong scent. He ran his fingers over the rose petals and marvelled at how soft they were.

Blinking suddenly at the appearance of bright, white light, Tommy tried to walk forward and away from it only to instantly become tangled up in some sort of rope.

"What the hell? What is this?!" He called out, looking desperately around to see if anyone else was there. Where had Harry gone? "Hello?! Who's there?!" Starting to get angry at the weird events that seemed to be happening, he tried not to think about how he may have become captured and thrown into some kind of lab for testing. The fear filling him was extraordinary.

He tried to break free of the knots and tangles of the rope that had seemed to grow tighter and tighter around him. The more he struggled, the more getting loose seemed impossible.

It was then that a shrill, ear piercing sound began to resonate from all around him, knocking him out of the fantasy world and back to reality itself.

It was his alarm. 5:53am.

Tommy let out a sigh of relief realizing he was in his own "couch bed" and not living out some nightmarish hell in a lab. He slowly drug himself out of the room and down the hallway.

...

Picking up the brightly colored tube of dough, the man squinted at it closely before gingerly peeling back a bit of the paper. Examining the very slight seam along the tube, Harry began gently tapping it with the tip of his nail ever so slightly and holding it to his ear to listen to the inside.

Tommy walked into the kitchen and just stared at the man.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice carrying a slight edge.

Harry, wearing Sally's apron and red oven mitts stared pitifully back at him. "Tryin' to get the goo out so we can have breakfast! But it's... delicate work."

Tommy sat down at the table and began reading the newspaper sourly. "You have to use a spoon to open it." He tried to tune out the man, not really in the mood for any conversation after what felt like a sleepless night and especially after their weird interaction the night before.

"Ah." Harry went to retrieve one from the drawer and slowly began using the tip to puncture the tube open. After two unsuccessful attempts, the third caused the tube to pop with an audible sound so loud it made the man jump comically.

Tommy just tried to ignore him while reading Le Parisien.

After the rolls were formed and placed in the oven to bake, Harry set about making the two of them cups of coffee. With Dick and Sally having run off early to do whatever it was they do, it was just the two of them in the attic now.

Harry brought two mugs over to the table, one plain, black coffee, the other loaded with as much of that white stuff as he could fit. Harry loved sugary things. He loved the way they made him feel, like he was a ticking time bomb ready to pop at any minute until later when he'd just pass out from exhaustion at a moment's notice.

"Coffee?" He asked the brooding, older man cheerfully.

"Thanks." Tommy grumbled, taking the mug from him and wasting no time draining it, the hot temperature seemingly having no effect on the alien.

Harry took a seat across from him and began sipping his own drink. "What's the matter Tommy?" He asked casually. "You seem... what's the word? Bitchy this morning."

"I just didn't get a lot of sleep."

"Ah... been there. I'm really enjoying this new sleeping thing except of course when I have the visions."

Tommy set down the newspaper and glowered at him suspiciously. "Visions? What do you mean?"

"Well it seems like every time I go to lay down and sleep lately, I keep seeing these images. The sights, the sounds. It's not very restful. It's like a movie in my head!"

Staring in disbelief at the younger man, Tommy tried to piece together just what was happening with the two of them. How could they both be suffering from these delusions when they go to sleep? Just then the timer for the oven went off and Harry sprung to his feet to get them the rolls. 

Thinking back to Harry's probably innocent touching and how strongly it had affected his whole system made him even more nervous about the whole thing. Were the two connected? What did it mean?

Tommy hurriedly got to his feet and headed for the door. "I've gotta get to school, Harry. I'll see ya!" He said running off without waiting for another word from the man.

Harry pulled the pan out of the oven as he called over his shoulder. "I didn't burn them this time! Promise! Besides, I like them a little black and crispy!"

...

Arriving at the high school, Tommy headed directly for the library to try to research what had happened the night before. It was there of course that he ran into Alissa.

"Oh hey... " She said as the smile dropped from her face upon noticing him.

It had been exactly seven days since they'd last spoken, seven days since Tommy had let slip that he'd been having second thoughts about their relationship. It hadn't been anything serious and really he'd been thinking more and more about their impending trip back home. So naturally, when she'd asked about their future college plans, he'd mentioned casually that it wasn't something they needed to worry about seeing as he'd be gone.

It hadn't gone over well.

'Perfect. This is just what I need.' Tommy thought irritably. "Hi Alissa." He said with a smile, trying to convey a calm and friendly demeanor even if inside he was losing his mind. "How's things?"

"Uh... things are good, ya know? Really... really good." She began looking around for some way to get out of the conversation Tommy noticed. She didn't seem too upset not like she had that day but she definitely didn't want to run into him here.

He frowned. He really hadn't meant to hurt her. He hadn't thought it was a big deal although they had talked about taking a break.

Glancing at the librarian in back, he gave her an apologetic look. "Look, I actually got here early so I could do some research for my report. So I guess I'll see you later?"

"In class. Sure. Later." She agreed with a nod as they awkwardly parted ways.

He hated that she was upset but the more disturbing thing right now was the fact that he and Harry were sharing some sort of delusions. And he had to find out why.

...

"Dreams. Huh." Tommy mumbled to himself from a back corner of the library having quickly grabbed just about every book he could find off the shelf about humans and sleeping. The librarian had given him a reprimanding look as though he couldn't read 1000 words a minute or something.

Finishing his third book, he glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed it was already time for first period. Finishing his final notes, he carried the stack of books to the front to check out for later.

It turned out dreams were a normal human symptom but if you paid close attention to them, they could give you meanings about your daily life. And boy did he have questions about his dream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pickles was Harry's dog who followed them to Earth and took on a human form as well.

Harry was talking with Mrs. Dubcek outside in the driveway as Tommy walked up. He waited politely for them to finish their conversation and for her to go back inside before he aggressively tugged on Harry's sleeve to get him to follow him upstairs.

"Ow! What?!" Harry complained.

The two now stood in the kitchen of the suspiciously quiet apartment. Tommy glanced towards the living room conspiratorially. "Where are Dick and Sally?"

"I don't know, man! Isn't Dick at the university still?"

Tommy checked the clock on the wall and shrugged. "You're right. Okay, so I want you to tell me about these visions you've been having."

Hauling his backpack over to the table, he began pulling out book after book about sleep disorders and dreams. Harry stared in amazement. 

"Wow, is all that for our next transmission?"

"What? No! I mean, maybe? I don't know! I don't know what you've done to me yet."

Squinting at him in confusion, Harry sat down at the table and pouted. "What I've done to you? I haven't done anything, I swear!"

"Yeah, well, we'll see." The older man said flipping through a few pages in one of the books. "Your last dream, what was it about?"

Harry grinned. He loved his dreams most of the time although they were tiring. "The one with the train or the one with the squirrel?"

Tommy stared at the man wearily and continued flipping through his book.

...

An hour later and no closer to the answers he'd been seeking, Tommy angrily shut the final book in front of him. Harry had long since wandered off, insisting something about missing his program.

He didn't seem to be at all bothered that the two of them were now experiencing dreams. Tommy wondered if they were the only two of the unit.

It wasn't an abnormal thing, of course. Lots of humans did it. Hiding behind a sense of duty as the Information Officer, Tommy had insisted he take it upon himself to find out as much about his dream as possible. But if he were really being truthful with himself, it was just a way to try to ignore the sudden feelings that had begun bubbling up inside of him.

Having been on the planet for about three years now, Tommy still felt he was having difficulty in fitting in. Trying to blend in with a planet's native species was one thing, inhabiting an entirely new form was another. It had taken him for forever to get used to the thing humans called attraction and even longer for him to adjust to the feelings and emotions involved with it.

It was true, he'd been with two partners already but neither had provided solid enough information for him to feel confident in his exchanges with them. He was still at a loss with how to interact romantically with any humans though he had made some significant gains since arriving.

Harry had seemed to take to romantic endeavors right away with just about anyone he came in to contact with. Having wasted no time in diving head first into the culture, Tommy could admit he was more than a little jealous at the ease at which he did so. It may have been just a leftover remnant of how comfortable they were back on their own planet.

Tommy had never been very gifted in the relationship department even back home but Harry had been just the same as now really.

Shoving the books aside, the teen slumped in his chair, staring hard at the kitchen table as he turned the matter over and over in his head.

The problem of course was not that he wasn't attracted to Harry. If so, then there'd be a simple solution of just telling him off. 

Harry had always been quite weird and ignored boundaries with just about everybody, but until recently Tommy hadn't been the target of any of that.

Scratching at a bit of table that had a dent, Tommy let himself entertain the idea of him and Harry together. After all, he was attractive and fun to be around and kind-hearted and...

Starting to feel a little ridiculous at his thought process, Tommy began to chuckle and shook his head of the thoughts. He was just getting carried away! Harry didn't have a thing for him! He was just making something out of nothing. 

It had been an innocent gesture with no further meanings behind it. Harry was very much a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy. There wasn't some secret he was keeping from him. And any dreams triggered by the event were equally as absurd!

So why then was he so reluctant to bring it up to the man and just clear the air?

Tommy chewed on his bottom lip, feeling all at once torn between keeping the worry buried deep down and confronting the awkwardness head on. What would The Big Giant Head Do?

The integrity of the mission came to mind and all at once he was feeling guilty for even wasting time on such trivial matters. They had a job to do and a relationship sprouting up between two members of the unit only meant wasted time and wasted opportunities.

Still, if there was something going on, something he had missed or hadn't picked up on, well, wasn't it his duty to find out?

For the sake of information for information's sake, he'd just have to find out!

Getting to his feet, he took a deep breath, bravery filling him. Tommy slammed his palm down on the table and marched his way to the living room where Harry sat bathing in the TV's warm glow. 

"Harry, we need to talk."

...

"Have you ever had feelings for someone?" 

Tommy was playing with a stray thread from one of the throw pillows as he and Harry sat and talked.

Harry snorted and laughed. "Well, yeah!"

"Well, what I mean is, like what if you weren't sure but like whenever they were around, you were instantly different and suddenly felt really happy? Like you're a different person around them?"

Harry thought for a minute about what the teen was trying to say before nodding enthusiastically along with him. "Oh, you mean like with Pickles!"

"No, Harry! I don't mean like with your dog!" Tommy glared at him for a moment before taking some deep breaths and trying to figure out how to just come out with it. Maybe it was just better to lay it all out on the line. For the sake of science.

Grabbing the remote from the armrest, Tommy clicked off the TV in front of them and looked deep into Harry's eyes. "Harry, I need to know what you were doing last night? Why... why'd you do that?"

Harry blinked at him, squinting a little as he tried to recall the previous night. "Why'd I take a shower at 2am? I had to wash all the pudding out of my hair, Tommy!"

Staring at the man in disbelief, Tommy realized his mouth was agape and he quickly shut it. "Wha-what?"

"It was everywhere! And it was chocolate!"

The teen scoffed in frustration and rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about?! No, dammit, I was talking about you grabbing my knee and like... you know... "

"No, I don't think I do?" His voice had taken on that high pitched, innocent tone it often did when he'd lost the threads of a conversation with someone. It was cute sometimes but when you were trying to get information out of the man, it was damn maddening.

The teen looked at him and all at once decided the conversation was a lost cause. Either Harry hadn't meant anything by the gesture or he was playing games with him. Either way, if they couldn't be adults about it, Tommy didn't see any real reason to even bring it up.

Tommy sighed heavily. "Whatever."

He got to his feet and trudged back towards the kitchen to pack up all his library books with a confused Harry on his tail.

"Tommy, where you goin'?"

"I don't know, man. Out." He griped, avoiding his gaze as he grew more and more frustrated by the moment.

This had been a mistake and he felt foolish for even bringing it up.

Tommy slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the back door, deciding he needed to get some space.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This real short fic I meant to write very quickly is becoming quite long...

Tommy wandered aimlessly around the mall, not really interested in looking in any of the stores but more so just looking for someplace to “be”. He eyed the various teenagers that roamed the corridors and griped silently at how pathetic they all were.

As he rode the escalator down to the lower level, he wondered just what it was about love that was so great? Sure, on a purely scientific level, it made sense that humans were attracted to one another. I mean really, it was simply for mating and procreation. But then again, some humans were drawn to the same sex, usually making procreation improbable though not impossible.

Tommy looked pensive as he neared the end of the escalator, nearly tripping and falling over the end of the runway before righting himself and quickly walking away to avoid more embarrassment. Hoping no one actually saw that, he took a deep breath, trying to situate his thoughts once more.

His mind turned towards adoption, another common human concept when it came to relationships. People who couldn't have children of their own did it and not just humans who were drawn to their same sex. All kinds of people did it! Even people who were alone. Tommy had read articles about people going out and adopting children when it was just them, they would solely be responsible for taking care of the kids. They called them “single parents” and it was becoming more and more common every day. So that left the question then; why were people so ga-ga over love? 

What was even the point of a relationship with someone else?

He could simply wave away the question with the idea that humans were strange and they did strange things. But he was an information officer, dammit! And he needed answers.

Meandering towards the food court, Tommy barely noticed Alissa standing in the center with her group of friends. By the time he did notice, he mentally cringed and wished he hadn't.

Alissa's smile fell when she noticed him and she quickly excused herself from the group to approach him.

“Uh, hi, Alissa.” He waved awkwardly, a grim smile on his face.

“Hey Tommy. Listen, can I talk to you?” She gave him a pitying smile.

Ah yes. The break-up conversation. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't been expecting this. He decided he should probably just say so.

Tommy shrugged, smiling wryly. “Ah yes. The break-up conversation. Well, it wasn't like I haven't been expecting this.”

Alissa looked concerned and she quickly led him over to a table a little farther away from her friends. Her friends. Not his. Never his. “Tommy, look, I'm not surprised that you said what you said. I mean, you've always kind of acted stand-offish when it came to us. It's not totally out of the blue that you'd want to break up with me.”

“What?! Me?!” Tommy exclaimed. “I don't want to break up with you! You're breaking up with me!”

The blonde gave him a judgmental look. “But you said that our future didn't matter because you wouldn't be around?”

“That's not what I said!”

There was a pause in which Tommy sighed exasperatedly, staring down at the sticky, metallic looking table before them. He briefly wondered if it ever got cleaned by anyone and why any of them would ever put up with such poor customer service. These kids had no taste, no culture.

Alissa looked at him sadly and shrugged. “Well, whatever you meant to say, I think you honestly hit the nail on the head with us. We don't have a future. And that's okay! You know, we're in high school and soon we'll both be going off to college and we'll likely not go to the same place and so-”

“Wait, whoa, hold on a second. Why wouldn't we?”

“What?”

Tommy glared at her. “Why wouldn't we go to the same school? You think I can't afford to go to your fancy school that your daddy's gonna pay for?”

Alissa scoffed. “Excuse me?!”

“Yeah, I said it! Your dad's snooty!”

“Tommy, that is not what I was saying. I just meant that... we... eventually will move apart. That's all.” She shrugged and quickly glanced back at her group of friends whose eyes all seemed to be trained on the two of them.

“Yeah and I'm sure that has nothing to do with Strudwick!” Tommy exclaimed, realizing all too late he was overreacting just a little.

Laughing and shaking her head, Alissa got to her feet and glared at him. “Look, I am breaking up with you, okay? We're just too different! And... nothing's going to change that. It's like... sometimes, I swear, it's like you're not even from this planet!”

His eyes growing wide, he got to his feet and staggered back a bit before glancing around suspiciously at the various people around. “Who said that? That's ridiculous! I want names, dammit!” 

Alissa gave him another pitying look. “I'm sorry, Tommy. I really gotta go.”

The teen watched her walk away with her friends, wondering what just happened between them. After a moment or two, he slowly turned and walked towards the exit to head home, cursing under his breath.

...

The pounding of footsteps up the attic stairs came echoing throughout the living room as Harry sat watching cartoons on TV. He stood up to see if it was Tommy and was indeed greeted by the sight of the very sour looking teen.

"Well, hey Tommy-"

"Not now!" He interrupted him, headed straight to his room and cursed his luck, wishing he had some kind of door to slam for emotional emphasis and a big “fuck you” to the world.

Harry stared at the hallway, wondering if he should follow him or not. After all, he didn't want him to be mad at him. He just had to think of some way to fix this. 

Sighing to himself, he turned the TV off and stared at his reflection on the screen.

Harry laid down on the floor, marveling at how soft the carpet still was despite their years of spilling food and drinks on it. He turned his head and sniffed the floor. It still smelled clean too.

His mind turned back to Tommy and his apparent anger with him. But why? What had even started the awkwardness between them? Some dream he'd had? No, it had to have been more than that. 

He had to think!

Harry cursed the transmitter they'd put in his human head. This wasn't the first time it had gotten in the way of him being able to figure things out. It often got him in trouble with others but usually his main complaint with it was his constant inability to notice just what was going on with the people around him.

Tommy was mad at him and it wasn't the normal sort of irritation he always directed towards him. This was... different.

Closing his eyes, he listened to the absolute silence of the apartment. It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep there on the living room floor, his anxious mind filling with imagery.

...

Harry awoke from his position on the floor surrounded by darkness. He wasn't at home any longer but was instead lying on the floor of the bar he worked at. Getting to his feet, he stumbled over towards one of the tables where a bowl of peaches sat in dim lighting. He picked one up to study it when he heard the unmistakable sound of something being dropped on the floor nearby.

The light beginning to increase a bit now, he walked over in search of what had made that noise when he discovered a wooden box on the ground with it's lid half off. Leaning down to retrieve it, Harry noticed a beautiful, shiny pendant sitting inside.

He picked up the pendant from the box and gingerly lifted it up to place it around his neck. Walking over to a mirror on the wall, he looked at his reflection with appreciation, taking in the way the light bounced off the small stone with a smile.

In the blink of an eye, Harry found himself outside in a field now, curiously not at all perturbed by the strange occurrence. He looked around and noticed a thunderstorm was blowing in and quickly searched for a but of shelter from the coming rain.

Seeing a magnolia tree nearby, Harry ran for it but got caught up in a bit of the rainfall. Finally situated safely under it, he smiled to himself and watched the rain fall all around him. One magnanimous clap of thunder and a flash of lightning later however, sent him screaming and running for his life.

...

“Harry, I told you, if you're going to sleep in the living room, you have to pick a corner, man!” 

Startled awake, Harry quickly sat up from his place on the floor and noticed Dick was yelling at him from above. The balding man shook his head in irritation before heading to his room.

Noticing he was again alone in the living room, he smirked to himself as he turned the TV back on. “That was a weird one!”

...

He was lying on the ground somewhere in the darkness, his hands placed firmly on his chest and crossed over one another as though he were dead.

He blinked in confusion and as the light became brighter all around him, he soon realized that he was lying on the carpeted floor of his bedroom.

Rolling on to his side, Tommy looked around befuddled, wondering how he got on the floor when he absolutely remembered lying down in bed to go to sleep. There was a sudden sound from the kitchen, a crash and he got to his feet to go investigate.

As soon as he passed through the doorway however, he realized he was no longer in their attic apartment. No, he walking through the halls of his high school now and passing by his row of lockers. As he approached his own, he suddenly realized that everyone around him was naked!

"What the hell?" He stared at the people as they passed by, seemingly not bothered by the fact that they didn't have on any clothes.

Tommy quickly checked himself and was relieved to find that he was indeed dressed. But he was the only one.

In the blink of an eye, he was back in his kitchen at home. His gaze shifted to the kitchen table where a needle and a spool of thread lay there. He walked over and picked them up, studying them.

Harry appeared in the doorway just then and Tommy quickly walked over to him and grabbed his hands tightly, holding them gently. "Harry! What's going on? This is so weird, man!"

The man smiled easily as he always did and nodded over at some flowers that were now on the table. "Those came for you." He said confidently, which was weird enough on it's own.

Tommy let go of his hands and went to pick up the purple arrangement. "Pansies?" He asked Harry in confusion who just smiled and nodded again.

Staring down at the deep purple blooms, he tried to think about the meaning of it all. What was even happening?

Just as everything began to click together and he realized he was probably just dreaming again, he fell on to the floor with a thud.

...

Tommy awoke on his bedroom floor, sore from the fall from his bed and squinting up at the bright light all around him. He really needed to get curtains for all these damn windows.

"Tommy?" Sally called from the kitchen. "Breakfast!"

"Yeah, great, thanks... " He groaned in pain from the crumpled covers on the floor and slowly got to his feet to head to the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

“Could you pass the syrup please?” Dick asked as they all sat eating pancakes at the kitchen table.

It was early Thursday morning and none of them really had any plans to speak of, well except for Sally, who was trying to hurry and finish cleaning up so she could get ready for her extra long weekend away with Don at the lake.

Tommy was moodily stabbing at his bits of pancake with his fork while glaring down at them. Harry was just staring off into space, his own food getting cold.

“Oh, uh, Dick, I'm gonna need the car to get over to Don's.” Sally said from her stance next to the sink as she quickly washed the last few of the dishes.

“Absolutely not. I am going with Mary to the museum later.”

“Well, that's later. I need it now.”

“Well, you can't have it now!”

“What's the big deal if I take the car? Albright's got her own wheels, she can pick you up!”

“I have to get ready to go to the University, Sally! You don't understand-”

As the two continued to argue with one another, the other half of the unit sat still in complete silence, neither meeting the other one's eyes.

Harry wondered just how long Tommy was going to stay mad at him. He picked up his fork and began pushing the stack of pancakes around in the pool of syrup on his plate then noticed Tommy was doing the same thing. He turned and eyed Dick and Sally who were both standing up arguing now.

Sally rolled her eyes and dried the dish in her hand. “Fine, Dick! Then just take me over there and drop me off!”

“No way! I'll tell you what's going to happen. I'm going to take you over there an drop you off right now!” 

She gave him a look before shrugging and stomping out of the kitchen. “Great! Let's go!”

“Let's!” 

The two left to head over to Don's house, leaving the two men still sitting at the table poking at their food.

It was then that Harry deciding to speak up. “Man. Those two should just get a room! Am I right?” He joked and laughed a little to himself.

Tommy squinted at him in irritation before pushing his plate away and getting up to head to his room again. He had to get ready for another hellish day in high school. He'd thought about calling out sick and staying home but the idea of spending a day couped up with Harry was even less appealing than math class with Mr. Struber.

“Aw Tommy, are you still mad at me?” Harry whined, getting to his feet to pursue him.

“I'm not... mad. No. Why would you say that?” Tommy paused, shifting from one foot to the other, obviously wanting to exit the conversation as quickly as possible but deciding to try to ease Harry's concerns.

"Well you seem mad!” He pouted. “You've been acting really weird the past few days and ya know, that's me talkin' here!"

Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and looked everywhere but at Harry. "I have not. I've just been preoccupied with this new dreaming thing and I've been busy."

"Busy avoiding me!"

"Well you weren't any help with decoding my dream!" He snapped at him.

"That's because you wouldn't tell me what your dream was!"

Their voices had been escalating in pitch, getting higher and higher in octave with each exchange.

Tommy glowered at him. "Just forget it, okay?" He then turned and stalked to his "room", throwing himself down on the couch while Harry just stared at him through the window over the sink.

He glared at the man. "Do you mind giving me some privacy?!"

Harry looked sheepish and glanced around. "Well, it's kinda hard when you don't have any doors or walls!" 

Finally, he grabbed his pancakes and stalked off to the living room to watch TV.

…

After another nauseating day at school, Tommy slowly climbed up the attic stairs preparing himself to find Harry sitting in one of the chairs watching TV as per usual. But as he rounded the corner, he found the living room completely empty and upon further check of the apartment, the entire attic empty.

Tommy threw his bag on the table in the kitchen and stood there wondering what to do. As much as he'd been wanting to avoid Harry lately due to his fears of accidentally admitting his feelings to the man, now that he was absent, Tommy felt strangely lonely at the lack of his presence.

What the hell was that about?

Obstinately, he stormed over to the living room and sat down to watch some mind-numbing television for a bit. He wasn't going to think about Harry anymore, damn it. It was driving him crazy!

But it only took a few minutes of his idle channel surfing for him to grow bored and his mind to begin nudging him to go check if Harry was working at the bar. He shook the thought away, not in the mood to deal with his feelings at the moment.

Still, a strange feeling began to fill his heart at the idea of surprising the dim-witted man at his job. Maybe he could get a cocktail or two out of him. After all, he was the bartender. And he was his friend truly and Harry just may be the closest person in the unit to him. He liked Dick and Sally well enough but his bond with Harry was strangely different.

Maybe that's what those dreams meant. Maybe that's all he was feeling after all! Friendship!

He cocked his head to the side in thought, combing back over his various interactions with other teens at school, wondering if any of them could have been considered friends. Perhaps some of them, though the relationships never lasted very long. He was just too smart for them, too mature. Yeah, that was it.

His thoughts moved to August and then, regretfully, Alissa. He sighed in frustration and turned the TV off.

Heading for the stairs, he gave in and decided to go meet up with Harry at the bar and maybe try to talk through his concerns with some alcohol.

…

His mouth was dry as he stood shakily at the edge of the bar. He sighed, preparing himself for the conversation that was about to occur. Despite every fiber of his being screaming at him not to say anything, he'd made up his mind. He needed to deal with this, if for no other reason than to get it over and done with.

Tommy stared at Harry who was positioned behind the bar, wiping it down with a rag. There were practically no patrons there which was odd considering it was a Thursday night. Tommy took a deep breath and approached him.

"Hey uh, Harry? Can I uh... talk to you?"

“Tommy! Well, what a nice surprise to come see me here at work!” He grinned, making a show of throwing the rag over his shoulder like an old-timey barkeep.

“Yeah... “

Dread filled him as sized him up with a look. "You uh, you aren't gonna yell at me again, are you?"

Tommy chuckled uncomfortably. "Uh, no. No, I don't think so." He took a seat on one the bar stools and stared at the dark wood of the bar.

He watched as Harry's manager gave him a nod before heading for the exit. 

“It's pretty slow so Joe's gonna go “make a deposit”.” Harry leaned in and whispered to him.

“Why are you whispering?” Tommy asked, blinking at the man.

“Because that's lingo for 'rob the bank'!” He whispered again and then touched his nose conspiratorially.

Scoffing, the teen glanced back at the door and then back at Harry. “Okay, one, we're the only ones here so again, why are you whispering? And two, I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. What did he say?”

Harry leaned up against the bar dramatically. “He said he was goin' to the bank!”

“Uh-huh? And... you immediately jumped to he's going to rob it?”

“Yeah!”

“Not that he's going to deposit the cash in the bank account for the bar?”

“The what now?”

Tommy rolled his eyes and decided to drop the matter. “Look, just gimme a drink.”

“Hmm, well alright. Here's a little ditty I just whipped up today. It's called... Passion!”

Tommy watched as the man began pouring juices and mint leaves into a shaker, concocting a drink for him right before his very eyes.

Harry handed him the glass and he prepared himself for the monstrosity that was about to assault his taste buds. The taste however, was really quite pleasant.

“Wow. That's uh, not at all what I thought it would taste like.”

“Does it taste like... Passion?” The man smirked.

The teen shook his head. “No, it tastes like vodka and pineapple juice and a little mint!”

“Aw, damn.”

"So, I just wanted to talk to you about stuff. Just wanted to... uh, get things out in the air. You know, for transparency! For the mission!" Tommy said, playing with his glass between his hands and enjoying the cold temperature against his palms.

Harry nodded along, really still unclear about what was even bothering the older man. But if it was about the mission, it must be important.

Tommy swallowed. "So uh, you know I uh, have been having these dreams about you lately? Well, they're starting to affect me a lot during the day too. I mean, they're distracting me... “

"Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that, Tommy! Gosh, I wish there was something I could do to help."

"Heh. Yeah." 

Harry looked at his friend and noticed the way he sort of quietly trailed off. Tommy nervously glanced at him before taking another big gulp of his drink.

Harry frowned and stared at the corner of the room where the jukebox sat, trying to figure out how to make him feel better.

Tommy took a deep breath and let out a sigh of frustration before launching into it all.

"It's just that... well, I think I have feelings for you. And forget the whole ramifications of what that means for us publicly. You know, we're supposed to be a family and well, Dick already long declared at the start of our mission that we wouldn't be having any interference with the main agenda. And that includes personal relationships within the unit. The unit doesn't function well when you're boinking your co-worker. And forget what other people would say should they notice anything! I mean, wow, like, just put that aside for a minute! Forget trying to explain that away to people! I'm really way more concerned about what it means for you and me inhabiting these bodies. I mean, the scientific studies haven't been done yet on the-"

Harry slapped the rag he was holding down on the bar in frustration. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a second here, Tommy!" He began waving his hands around in the air as he shook his head back and forth.

Tommy swallowed anxiously preparing for the man's complete and utter freak out on him. "Y-yeah?" He knew this was a bad idea to bring it up.

"You're gonna have to slow down and use waaaay smaller words there, pal! I have no idea what you're even talkin' about!"

Tommy let go of a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Oh. Uh... well, it's pretty basic. All I'm trying to say is-"

The sound of the door chiming as a few customers walked in broke the both of them out of the intense staring contest they were currently engaged in.

Harry looked distractedly past Tommy to where the group of people took a seat at a table. He frowned at him. “I should really go get their order.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do what ya gotta do.” Tommy reluctantly shrugged, lowering his gaze.

As Harry wandered off to greet them, he finished his drink and quickly shuffled away towards the exit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may or may not know, the only clues the show gave us as to where they are from is that they are from the "spiral arm galaxy". :D
> 
> ...
> 
> "Keep me safe inside  
Your arms like towers  
Tower over me
> 
> Cause we are broken  
What must we do to restore  
Our innocence  
And all the promise we adored?  
Give us life again  
Cause we just wanna be whole"  
\--We Are Broken by Paramore

Sitting on the edge of the rooftop, Tommy stared hard out at the flashing neon liquor signs in the distance off the main road of Rutherford. The dreary clouds up above covering up the moon were the perfect accouterments to his mood, a mix of nihilism and teen angst. And he wasn't even a teenager! Not really, anyway.

It was times like these he wished he were old enough to buy a pack of cigarettes. The drink he'd had was nice but he needed something else to take the edge off. The idea of sneaking downstairs to try to steal one off of Mrs. Dubcek entered his mind but he disregarded it.

He scoffed at the hypocrisy of it all. Here he was, older than any of the unit and wiser and more experienced and yet he was made to play the part of the fool. He had no idea what he was doing. This may just be his worst mission yet. What a failure he was.

His job was to learn, to absorb information and write up reports on his findings about human behavior and Earth in general. But he wasn't doing a great job lately as a human. Maybe he wasn't any wiser than the rest of them. Everyone else in the unit seemed to be fitting in just fine with their new duties and assignments as humans. Why was he the only one having trouble? It'd been four years, damn it! Why was he still failing at this?!

He peered out at the night sky once more and out towards the highway stretching beyond their little Ohio town. He sat there for what felt like hours on that chilly rooftop but no answers seem to come to him for any of the questions he had.

…

With Sally gone on her trip and Dick seemingly spending the night at Mary's, there was no one left to bother Tommy as he brooded away on the rooftop. That was of course, until Harry walked up the stairs from the driveway below.

“Well, hey Tommy! I was wondering where you ran off too!”

He continued on his way inside before walking over to the window that led onto the roof. Tommy made no attempt to move to go back inside and so Harry climbed out onto the roof to sit next to him.

“Yeah, I guess I just felt like coming home.” The older man said with barely a glance at the other man.

Harry nodded along and stared out at the horizon shivering a bit from the cold. He glanced at his friend, wondering why he wasn't cold, dressed only in a long sleeved shirt and jeans. He decided not to comment on it and instead leaned in close to the man to share a secret.

“Hey. Wanna know somethin'?”

Eyeing him warily, Tommy hesitated before answering, assuming he'd regret it. “What?”

“Mrs. Dubcek's got a man friend over tonight.” Harry grinned and nodded conspiratorially at him. “He's one of them “magician types”!”

“Okay... “

Harry chuckled to himself though Tommy wasn't sure he got the joke. Starting to feel nervous at the idea of being home alone with Harry, he wondered if maybe he should head out again, though nothing would be open at this time of night.

He sighed as he stared out ahead of them, deciding he'd just announce he was going to bed and excuse himself. Before he could however, Harry had leaned closer to him once more.

“Hey, you're not still upset with me, are you?”

“I'm not upset, I'm just... I don't know how to tell you... “

Harry eyed him curiously as he trailed off. “Tell me what, Tommy?”

“Just that... what I was saying back at the bar. I don't know what to do about my feelings for you! They're all... weird and uncomfortable! Everything's so weird now between us!”

“It is?”

“YES! Yes, it is, dammit! That's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time! And... well, what am I supposed to do about them? These feelings?”

A humorous look came across the other man's face as he recalled a memory or two in his mind. “Well, I know what me and Vicki used to do with our... “feelings”!” 

Tommy rolled his eyes and glared at the trees below. “I don't want to hear about what you used to do with your ex-girlfriend. This is serious.”

Harry played with a bit of the fur from his fluffy coat. “Well, what if I told you that maybe I felt that way too?”

He looked at him in confusion, unsure if he'd heard what he'd heard or just what he'd wanted to. “But you don't... I mean, you don't, right?”

Harry grinned at him but it soon fell from his face and was replaced by confusion as well. “What are we talkin' about again?”

Tommy scoffed and got to his feet to go inside. The cold was beginning to get to him and he was done talking about this with him.

“Tommy, wait!” He stood up as well and followed the teen inside to his bedroom where he watched him sink down on to his couch and begin to sulk. “I... I kind of like when we're together, you know? And I don't know what that means. I just think you're getting pretty technical about a very human concept.”

Staring up at the man in the giant furry coat, it was almost too absurd to be true that such a coherent thought came from Harry himself. Tommy frowned, letting the thought turn over in his mind. Harry liked him too? But that was... that was insane!

Jumping to his feet, he poked the man in his chest as he began talking a mile a minute. “But, that's just it, Harry! Are my feelings for you real and genuine or are they just a side effect from inhabiting another species' body? When we came to Earth and took on these forms, all sorts of new sensations and emotions began to overtake us! We saw Sally go through a major change in her personality, we saw Dick struggle with this sudden obsession with Dr. Albright. Hell, I went through hell and back when we first arrived because of the absurd concept of puberty!" Tommy scoffed and began pacing the room back and forth while Harry watched silently.

“It's just... it doesn't make sense to me, these feelings. Are they to be believed or are they chemical?” He turned to face the man again, leveling his gaze at him. "Harry, if we go back to the spiral arm galaxy, am I still going to feel the same way about you?"

Harry shoved his hands in his coat pockets and grinned. "Well... I am rather unforgettable."

"It's not a joke. I'm being serious."

Harry frowned and slowly made his way closer to him as a hesitant expression took over his face. "Tommy, I don't know much but I do know this. Since we've come to this planet, I've tried a lot of things. I've failed at a lot of those things!! But, I've experimented, I've messed up and stumbled upon new things too! If I've learned anything, it's that humans live their lives to the fullest because of their short lifespans. See, they don't get centuries to enjoy themselves or live cautiously, so the little time they have they make sure to do exactly what they want when they want! So if we take back any lessons back with us to The Big Giant Head, it's that we should try to be more like them. We should try to just live right now, while we have the time, because you never know when you'll be out of it."

Tommy stared up at the man in shock and awe. "Harry, that's... that's unbelievably deep and profound. You're right. I mean, we don't technically know when we're going back and... well it shouldn't really matter anyway, right? I mean, we can just deal with that if it happens, when it happens." He smiled to himself, looking down at the floor and then back up to Harry's smiling face suddenly feeling ten times lighter.

"Do you feel better now?" Harry asked, chewing on his lip cautiously.

"Yeah. Yeah, you know, I do, Harry. Thank you!”

Harry nodded, satisfied that all was right with his friend again. He turned to head towards the kitchen, only to be stopped by Tommy's hand suddenly grasping at his wrist and pulling him back.

Before he could open his mouth to question the older man, Tommy had stepped closer to him as if to pull him into an embrace. "I think I wanna live my life now before we run out of time."

Harry cocked his head to the side in confusion, allowing Tommy the perfect opening to lean in and capture his lips for a kiss.

He smiled into it as he felt Harry begin to kiss him back, even going so far as to run his hands up the back of his shirt. He moved his hands down from Harry's face and onto the soft fur of his coat, marveling at how it was still so soft after the oaf had spilled many an ice cream cone on it.

When they pulled away, both were smiling widely as they chuckled and glanced around the room and away from each other. Both seemed to feel a sense of ease at the kiss finally happening and yet still a bit of embarrassment that Tommy was sure was an alien remnant. 

Then again, were their true forms the alien bodies they left behind on their mothership or were these human ones their actual bodies now? They'd been inhabiting them for so long, it was all beginning to blur together. As his overly analytical mind began going on a tailspin of what-if's and theoretical hypotheses, Tommy felt Harry's warm embrace all around him as he was pulled in for a tight hug.

“Aww... I love you, you doddering old man!” He cooed happily and Tommy felt himself relax in his arms, deciding to leave the the philosophical questions for a much later date.

After all, they had plenty of time.


End file.
